Qof what is it

Prisoner Healthcare. About QOF. Historic Data. Archive GP Consultations. Archive PTI - Support. Child Health. Dental Care. Emergency Care. Health Conditions. Heart Disease. Hospital Care. Mental Health. Public Health. Quality Indicators.

Quality Measurement Framework. Scottish Healthcare Audits. Sexual Health. Waiting Times. Information for Users of QOF Register and Prevalence Data QOF register data and "prevalence" rates are increasingly sought by a variety of people as a source of information on the level of different types of health problems in the population.

Overview Use of QOF prevalence data in QOF payments calculations Warnings about the use of QOF register and prevalence figures for other purposes National QOF prevalence estimates for Scotland - Table and commentary Further information and interpretation on individual QOF registers Overview Prevalence is a measure of the frequency of a disease or health condition in a population at a particular point in time and is different to incidence, which is a measure of the number of newly diagnosed cases within a particular time period.

Specifically: Points can only be awarded to a practice for a given clinical indicator group for example, asthma if the practice can produce a register of patients with that condition or group of conditions. The number of pounds per point in each clinical domain area is adjusted up or down according to each practice's prevalence rate for the relevant QOF register, relative to the estimated national prevalence rate from the same register.

Warnings about the use of QOF prevalence figures for other purposes Data on the prevalence of specific diseases or health conditions are an important element of the QOF.

QOF prevalence rates are what is known as "raw" or "crude" rates - which means that they take no account of differences between practice populations in terms of their age or gender profiles, or other factors that influence the prevalence of health conditions. A QOF prevalence rate is simply the total number of patients on the register, expressed as a proportion or percentage of the total number of patients registered with the practice at one point in time.

This could mean for example that one practice with an older population might appear to have higher prevalence rates for age-related conditions such as cancer or stroke than another practice with a younger population. Some QOF registers are restricted to include only persons over a specific age. However, the QOF prevalence rates use as their denominator the total all ages number of patients registered to the practice at one point in time. Diabetes registers are based on patients aged 17 and over; chronic kidney disease and depression registers are based on patients aged 18 and over.

This means that for these conditions the QOF-reported prevalence will appear lower than would be the case if the age restriction was also applied to the population denominator. Prevalence figures based on QOF registers may also differ from prevalence figures from other sources because of coding or definitional issues.

For example, to be on the QOF diabetes register the type of diabetes type 1 or type 2 must be specified by the practice. If the type is not specified the patient will not be counted in the register. Information on diabetes as reported elsewhere may not be subject to these restrictions. Whilst some QOF registers count patients with one specific disease or condition, others count patients with one or more of a list of multiple conditions.

As well as age, there may be other criteria for inclusion on a QOF register, such as date of diagnosis this applies to the cancer register, for example. Year-on-year changes in the size of QOF registers are influenced by various factors including: changes in demographic changes such as an ageing population ; improvements in case finding by practices; changes over time in the definition of the registers.

This point is addressed in more detail below in the section giving Further information and interpretation on individual QOF registers.

QOF prevalence rates can also be affected by other factors such as: health care seeking behaviour - people differ in the readiness with which they seek health care when they are not well; access to services - people are more likely to consult for a condition if services are readily accessible; diagnostic practice - it is impossible to completely standardise the methods clinicians use to make diagnoses; data recording - there may be variations in the completeness and accuracy of practice records.

Asthma The prevalence statistics provided here are based on annual registers of practice patients with a diagnosis of asthma. Back to top Atrial Fibrillation Atrial fibrillation is a heart rhythm disorder. Back to top Diabetes Mellitus Although indicators related to Diabetes Mellitus have existed in the QOF since April , there has been a change in the selection criteria for counting patients on QOF diabetes registers.

Skip to main content. Internet explorer is no longer supported We have detected that you are using Internet Explorer to visit this website. Open the QOF online database to find the results for your local surgery. The percentage of patients with cancer diagnosed within the preceding 15 months who have a review recorded as occurring within 3 months of the practice receiving confirmation of the diagnosis. The contractor establishes and maintains a register of patients aged 18 years or over with CKD with classification of categories G3a to G5 previously stage 3 to 5.

The percentage of patients on the CKD register who have hypertension and proteinuria and who are currently being treated with an angiotensin-receptor blocker or an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. The percentage of patients on the CKD register whose notes have a record of a urine albumin:creatinine ratio or protein:creatinine ratio test in the preceding 12 months. The percentage of patients with COPD and Medical Research Council MRC Dyspnoea Scale of 3 or more at any time in the preceding 15 months, with a subsequent record of an offer of referral to a pulmonary rehabilitation programme.

The percentage of women, on the register, prescribed an oral or patch contraceptive method in the preceding 12 months who have also received information from the contractor about long acting reversible methods of contraception in the preceding 12 months. The percentage of patients with coronary heart disease who have had influenza immunisation in the preceding 1 August to 31 March.

The percentage of patients with coronary heart disease with a record in the preceding 12 months that aspirin, an alternative anti-platelet therapy, or an anti-coagulant is being taken. The percentage of patients diagnosed with dementia whose care plan has been reviewed in a face-to-face review in the preceding 12 months. These modules have now been replaced, though NHS England encourages practices to continue to bed-down improvements made in line with these.

Two new quality improvement modules have been added, on early cancer diagnosis and the care of people with a learning disability.

Location: England Wales Northern Ireland. Audience: GPs Practice managers. Updated: Monday 18 January